Secret of the Chaotix
by Phoenix Ride
Summary: A enemey from Vector's past pays a call, bringing up old memories from the Chaotix's past. Will Espio and Charmy be able to save Vector before he is lost to the dark side forever? Read, Review, and Find Out!
1. Chapter 1: A Tragic Begining

**Secret of the Chaotix**

**By: Phoenix Ride**

**Ch.1: A Tragic Begining**

It was beautiful summer day in Central City. Flowers were blooming, birds were singing, and a small orange tabby cat was chasing a gaint green crocodile up a tree. Yeah, you heard me right. A cat was chasing a crocodile up a tree.

In fact the crocodile being chased was none other than the head detective of the Chaotix Detective Agency, Vector the Crocodile. He and his pals, Charmy and Espio, had been called to find a lost cat named Tiger. Needless to say, the little guy lived up to his name.

From the moment the Chaotix had found the small tabby cat, he had clawed viciously at Vector, chasing him through the park and finally up a tree. Vector's skin was covered in stratches, and his red eyes were widened in horror at the little beast who was trying to get up there and kill him. There was no way he was coming down from that tree anytime soon.

Seeing his teammate in trouble, Espio threw a sleep bomb at the little cat, and soon Tiger was taking a well-deserved snooze. Seeing the threat had been dealt with, Vector climbed down the tree with a sigh of relief.

"That little ball of fur's a monster!" Vector shouted.

"It doesn't seem to like crocodiles to much that's for sure" said Charmy, with a slight hint of laughter " I still can't believe that Big Bad Vector was running away from a little cat!"

"Make anymore wisecracks and I'm going to squash ya FlyBoy!" yelled Vector.

"Will you two calm down" said Espio, desperate to calm down the quarelling duo " let's just return Tiger to her owner before Mr. Sims forgets our paycheck,"

"Right" said Vector, calming down instantly " let's go,"

* * *

After finishing off their latest case, the Chaotix returned home for much needed rest and relaxation. Mr. Sims had paid well for the return of his cat and even offered to help Vector with his injuries. All else, another case closed.

Vector lay back in his office chair listening to some music, thinking about how fortunate he was to have great partners like Espio and Charmy. Back when he started detective work, he had a good partner as well, but it wasn't that long before that good partnership became bad.

"I remember it like it was yesterday," thought Vector dreaming back.

**(FlashBack-Vector's POV)**

_I had just signed on as a detective at the Green Forest Hills Police Station, and was very eager to take down some crime. When the Cheif assigned me my very first partner, I was a little miffed. I could take down scum easily without anyone's help. But my tune changed once I layed eyes on her._

_The Chief had assigned me with hot red and yellow chick named Wolf. Her amber gaze locked onto my red eyes, and I could tell I was immediately hooked on her. I gladly accepted her as my first partner._

_She had skills too. With my raw power and Wolf's athletic abilities there was no gang in the universe that could stand up to the ultimate team._

_Crime after crime, my crush on her grew. I kept my feelings secret for a long time, waiting for the right moment to come. When I finally decided to let my feelings out, I dropped by the jewelry store and bought a beautiful diamond ring. Tonight, I planned to ask her to marry me._

_A sudden case dropped in delaying my proposal plans. A new criminal named Slate was running around in the neighborhood, and as usual me and Wolf were on the case._

_It didn't take us long to find Slate's secret hideout. I was determined to catch this crook quickly, so I could propose to Wolf and get it over with. But again my plan was shot down in flames._

_Wolf ran ahead of me in the corridor and when I finally found out where she was, a sound of pistol shot through the air. I entered the room to see a grinning spider with a smoking gun, and my beloved Wolf bleeding on the floor._

_All my rage broke out right then and there. I charged at Slate, determined to make him pay for killing Wolf, but the guy spun and web and swung away. After a few glaring moments, I ran over to Wolf's body, and cried._

_I pulled out the diamond ring I had bought and placed it on her chest, cupping her lifeless hands over it. I looked over her motionless form one more time before whispering the words I had been trying all day to say._

_"I love you,"_

**( End FlashBack)**

"Vector?" said Espio, waking the crocodile up from his daydream.

"Espio?" said Vector, looking at the chameleon " what's up?"

"There's someone on the phone" said Espio " he wants to talk you about a case,"

"Thanks for telling me" said Vector, picking up the phone and getting back to business. " Hello? Yes this is the Chaotix Detective Agency. What case do you have for us Sir?"

Vector's form became suddenly stiff in anger as the client told the croc his request, Espio noticed.

"Monster!" growled Vector over the phone line " you better not do anything to her!"

The client whispered something else.

"NEVER!" shouted Vector over the phone, Espio jumped in surprise. He wish he could hear what the mysterious client was saying.

Vector's attitude calmed down as the client said something else, but venom was still evident in the crocodile's voice.

"Fine" said Vector over the phone " I'll come alone. See you then,"

"What was that all about?" asked Espio cautiously as Vector slammed down the phone.

"Keep Charmy locked up in his room tonight" said Vector " and be on lookout for prowlers,"

"Where are you going?" asked Espio.

"To settle accounts with an old friend," said Vector, and with that he marched out the door.


	2. Chapter 2: How Charmy

**Ch.2: How Charmy**

Espio had no idea what had Vector so upset, but felt best not to question his leader's reasoning. As much as Espio wanted to follow Vector, the croc's orders had been lookout for Charmy.

"Whoever the person on the phone was" thought Espio as he walked upstairs to Charmy's room " must have threatened Charmy's life. But who was this "her" Vector was talking about over the phone?"

Peeking into Charmy's room, Espio saw the bee was safe and sound playing videogames. Turning away, Espio pulled out his kunai knife and prepped for action.

"If anyone is going to get to Charmy" said Espio " there going to have to go through me first,"

* * *

Vector growled as he walked down the street. He felt uncomfortable without the support of Charmy and Espio, but the client had threatened to hurt Charmy if Vector didn't come to meet him alone at the Blue Eye Pub.

"Espio will keep him safe," said Vector, proud to have a ninja on the team.

Of course, he and Espio hadn't always been friends. In fact, if it hadn't been for Charmy, Vector would have never would have met the silent chameleon. Laughing to himself, Vector thought back to the first time he had met the bumbling bee.

**(FlashBack- Vector's POV)**

_It was just two days after Wolf's funeral. I had quit the detective force. The Chief had wanted to give me a new partner in place of Wolf, but I declined every attempt. I had loved Wolf with all my heart, and there was no way in the world I was going to see her replaced. So I quit._

_With no crooks to keep me busy or on my toes, I had to settle for a nice stroll through the park. I watched the local kids as they slid down the slides, leap frogged over each other, and skipped rocks on the pond. It made me crack a smile as I thought back to my very own childhood._

_But before I could flashback to my younger days, a speeding object suddenly slammed into my chest. I was about to yell at whoever had bumped into me, but quickly seathed my anger at seeing it was just a young bumblebee kid._

_I had no idea why he wore a flight helmet on his head, but I guess if your messing around in the air you got to protect your noggin somehow. When the bumblebee got a first look of who he ran into, he started crying in fear._

_Before I could try to get the bee to stop crying, angry shouts echoed from up ahead, and it wasn't long before I spotted a mob of goons running up the sidewalk. The young bee lost his fear of me instantly, stopped crying, and hid behind my right shoulder quivering in fright. It was obivous who the goons were after._

_"Stay behind me kid" I said to the bee " I'll deal with them,"_

_As the gang grew closer, I puffed up my chest, and when they were about ten feet away, let them have it with a streaming jet of fire. I grinned smugly as the whole gang turned tail and ran to aviod getting burned._

_"Wow, that was amazing!" yelled the young bee, looking up at the crocodile in admiration. " you're like a superhero! Did you see the way those guys turn and ran? How did you spit fire? Can you do other amazing stuff? Can you...,"_

_"Whoa, slow down kid" I said before he could go on " First things first, who are you? And why were those goons chasing ya?"_

_"Charmy Bee Sir!" said the kid, giving me a salute " I was easedropping on their converstation when I knocked over a box and was found out,"_

_"Why were you easedropping on their converstation?" asked Vector._

_"Well they were talking about the Big Cheese" said Charmy, slightly embrassed " and I thought 'Cheese? Where?' Turns out they weren't talking about cheese at all. I mean, what kind of cheese is named Slate?"_

_I was about to say something about of how foolish Charmy had been easedropping on someone else's converstation, when the name he mentioned stopped me in my tracks. Slate! The crinimal who had murdered my beloved Wolf. The good for nothing spider was back!_

_"Uh are you okay?" asked Charmy, disturbed by my sudden anger._

_"Nah" I said, quickly settling my temper " thanks for the info kid, but I gotta bail. Have me a crook to catch,"_

_As I ran off, I could hear Charmy's wings beating after as he yelled._

_"Wait, I'm coming with you!"_

**( End FlashBack)**

Once finished traveling through his flashback, Vector found himself standing right outside the Blue Eye Pub. People could be heard drinking and laughing inside. Vector sport a slight grin as he thought...

"Time to crash the party,"

With that in mind, Vector entered the pub, and with his entrance made everyone in the crowd grow silent. Thousands of people looked Vector's way, scanning the new arrival. Vector didn't pay attention to their stares, and scanned the crowd with his red eyes, looking for the one who had called him.

When he finally spotted the person who came to see, Vector stomped over to a booth where a grinning spider sat.

"Ah, Detective Vector" said the spider, as Vector took a seat in the booth " so nice you could accept my humble invitation,"

"Can it Slate" growled Vector " what do you want me for?"

"I want you to work for me" said Slate " I was impressed by your skills years ago, and I figure they could come quiet in handy with my plans,"

"What part of 'Never' don't you understand?" said Vector.

"The part where I eliminate your friends" said Slate, grinning slyly " and your one true love,"

"If you dare hurt her!" Vector growled.

"No need to be so frustrated" said Slate " just agree to work for me and I promise no harm will come to them. Do we have a deal?"

Vector looked disgusted as the spider held out his hand in partnership. He already had two partners thank you. But he couldn't risk the thought of Espio and Charmy getting hurt. Slate was a dangerous character with contacts everywhere, he would have no trouble carrying out his threat.

No matter how much he didn't like it, Vector stuck out to shake Slate's.

"Deal," growled Vector.

Suddenly the shocking pain of a thousand thunderbolts exploded in Vector's back, making the crocodile go unconious. Slate grinned wickedly as he stood over the unconious croc.

"Welcome to the dark side, Detective," said Slate.


	3. Chapter 3: Underground Brawl

**Ch.3: Underground Brawl**

Morning came, and with it, Espio worries grew. Vector had not returned home last night, and Espio had a sneaking suspision that their mysterious client had something to do with the croc's sudden dissappearence.

"Morning Espio" yawned Charmy, flying into the kitchen " where's Vector? Sleeping in late again?"

"He gone," Espio responded.

"Oh" said Charmy, and dropped his cereal " What? Where is he?"

"He got a call from some old friend and asked me to stay here and protect you" said Espio " he never returned home last night,"

"Then we gotta go find him!" said Charmy.

"Charmy, we don't even know where he went," said Espio.

"Come on we're detectives aren't we?" said Charmy " and Chaotix members never leave a man behind,"

"Alright" said Espio, encouraged by Charmy's speech " let's search,"

With that said, Espio and Charmy split up to search the town for clues. If anyone had seen Vector one of the locals had to know about it. Espio was about ready to give up when he spotted a green scale laying in front of the Blue Eye Pub.

After thorough examination of the scale, there was no doubt in Espio's mind that it belonged to Vector.

"So" thought Espio " this is where the client told Vector to meet him last night. You always seem to get in trouble at bars, don't ya Vec?"

**(FlashBack-Espio's POV)**

_Back in Green Forest Hills, the seediest pub in town was the Black Pike. The joint was running with criminals and misfits. If you drew attention from this kind of crowd you were just signing your own death warrant. Luckily, I knew how to stay invisible._

_I was known as the Ghost of the Bar, stealing free drinks, and scaring the pants off of all the criminals that came in. It's fun messing with the minds of people who deserve them. What I didn't expect were two new people to come in._

_My eyes widened in surprise when I saw a mean looking crocodile and an extremely hyper-active bee walk into the bar. All the criminals gathered instantly glared at the new comers._

_One of the pub's regualar customers, Big Mike, approached the crocodile specifically, slamming his fists together, clearly ready for a brawl._

_"Well, well, well" said Big Mike " if it isn't Detective Vector. You got some nerve showing up on my turf. This little kid your new partner?"_

_"Can it Mike" growled Vector " tell me where Slate's new hideout is!"_

_In my mind I gasped. Slate! He was the most mentioned criminal at the bar! A dangerous character! This detective had to be nuts if he was going after him!_

_"You know that information doesn't come cheap" said Big Mike to Vector " how 'bout I take the kid as collateral until you pay me what you owe,"_

_"No deal!" said Vector, pushing Charmy behind him " you want to make this hard Mike? Fine, I'll beat the information out of ya!"_

_"Bring it on," said Mike, then he and the crocodile began to fight._

_From the looks of things Vector was putting up a pretty decent fight, but Big Mike had power to spare. Swiping out one of his claws, the bear knocked Vector againist the hard cement wall and grabbed the bee kid in his other hand._

_"Vector help!" yelled the bee._

_"Charmy!" yelled Vector._

_By this time I had seen enough. Coming out of my invisible form, I threw some of my exploding shuriken at Big Mike's making the bear howl in pain. While Big Mike was distracted from the pain, Charmy took his chance and escaped._

_I threw out a few smoke bombs next, blacking out the room in a dark mist. Through the smoke I found the crocodile and bee and led them towards safety. Once I was sure we were nowhere where criminals could find us, I introduced myself to them._

_"Thanks for the help" said Vector, then turned his attention to the bee. " Charmy, are you alright?"_

_"I think so," said Charmy._

_"Good" said Vector " but from now on I'm flying solo kid,"_

_"What?" asked Charmy, suddenly shocked. " Why?"_

_"This job is to dangerous!" said Vector " you could've just gotten hurt right now! If Espio hadn't stepped in to save us, you would be dead! I'm not going to risk anymore lives while looking for Slate!"_

_"Did you lose someone before?" I asked cautiously._

_"I did...once" said Vector, tears flowing from his eyes. " Slate killed her, and now I'm determined to make him pay,"_

_I understood the croc's feelings completely. It was hard to go on living when someone you loved had been murdered. Charmy looked at the crocodile sympathetically._

_"Vector," was all he managed to say._

_"You're foolish going after Slate alone" I told Vector " he'll kill you, just like he did her. That's why I'm going to come along and help you take him out,"_

_"Yeah, me too!" said Charmy._

_"Guys" said Vector, looking at us " I don't want you to get hurt,"_

_"Don't worry about us" I said " we can handle ourselves, it's you we have to look after,"_

_"Very funny," grumbled Vector, but he did manage to let out a laugh._

_"Alright, if you guys are sure" said Vector " let's go kick Slate's but!"_

_And with that, we were off, on our first misson as a team._

**(End FlashBack)**

Snapping out of his flashback Espio entered the Blue Eye Pub and began to look around. Instantly his yellow eyes caught sight of a couple of goons talking around one of the tables. Slipping into sleath mode, Espio sneaked in to better hear what the thugs were saying.

"Yeah happened last night" said one of the thugs " Slate got that crocodile good,"

"Vector," Espio thought worriedly.

"What do you think Slate plans to do with him?" said another thug.

"I don't know" said the first thug " probably take him to that cooky scienetist of his. He loves havng new subjects to experiment on,"

"Like that Wolf girl" said a thrid thug, dreamily " she was one hot andriod,"

"Andriod!" Espio shouted in shock, immedaitely blowing his cover.

When the thugs finally figured out that someone was easedropping on their conversation, it was to late, Espio was running out the pub. He had to find Charmy and fast! He had a feeling that Vector was in more danger than they ever known.


	4. Chapter 4: Ambush!

**Ch.4: Ambush!**

Groggily, Vector opened his eyes and glanced at his surroundings. By the looks of it he was in cave of some kind. There were objects spread throughout the area that looked like the tools belonging to a mad scienetist.

Vector could feel the cold touch of metal raidiate through his back, and the choking bind of the restraints that bound his arms and legs. Slate had double-crossed him. How was he supposed keep his part of the bargain if Slate decided to turn into some kind of science experiment?

"I'm sick of this guy and his surprises" growled Vector " I had enough dealing with those in the past,"

* * *

**(FlashBack- Vector's POV)**

_It took us about two hours before Espio found informant who was willing to hand over the secret of Slate's hideout, for the right price of course. Criminals, you never get the information you want without money._

_I didn't like the look of this bulldog guy right away. Called himself Gourd. He should have been named Gorge, seeing that it was like he swallowed a twelve ton pizza with extra cheese._

_" Looking for Slate huh?" said Gourd " yeah, I know where he is. I could tell you, for the right price,"_

_My eyes rolled at the guy's greedy nature, while Espio kept his cool and handed a meduim size sack over to Gourd. Gourd opened the sack, and his face lit up instantly._

_"I trust that's the right price?" said Espio._

_"You drive a hard bargian Mr. Chameleon" said Gourd " very well, Slate's hanging over somewhere in the old factory district. Don't know exactly where, but word on the street is the old cement factory. However, I can't imagine what Slate wants to do with a ton of cement,"_

_"Thanks for the intel" said Espio, and turned back to me and Charmy " let's go,"_

_Minutes later we arrived at the old cement factory. The minute we entered the old dump, I sensed trouble. Something wasn't right here. If this was really Slate's hideout, where was Slate? And where were all his henchmen?_

_Suddenly, the lights popped on answering my question. Up in the rafters stood about a dozen goons wielding guns, clubs, and crowbars. That slime Gourd had led us into an ambush!_

_Espio and me quickly moved to finish these guys off. I could Charmy behind us screaming, desperately trying to avoid getting hit._

_I climbed up into the rafters and knocked five goons away with a strong swipe of my tail. A sixth guy sneaked up from behind me to drill his crowbar into my head. Before he could do that though, I punched him and the gut and let out a terrifying roar, making sure this guy could see every one of my razor-sharp teeth. He screamed and ran away in fear._

_Espio had cornered three other goons on the other set of rafters. Using his invisibility and quick speed, the chameleon wasted no time backing his enemies into a corner. Before those goons could even think about making a counterattack, Espio pinned them all to the wall with shuriken._

_"Well" said Espio, wiping some sweat off his brow " that's done,"_

_"Help!" came Charmy's desperate scream._

_Looking down, I mentally smacked myself for forgetting the other three goons occupying the warehouse. The leader of the three remianing villians held Charmy in his clutches, with a gun pointed at the young bee's forehead._

_"Make any sudden moves" said the leader of the gang " and your little friend is toast,"_

_"Put him down!" I growled at the goon._

_"Ah Detective" said the gang leader looking at me " the boss will be happy to see you. You've become his very own personal hobby. Please do stop by for a visit sometime. We'll be waiting,"_

_With that said the other two goons behind the leader threw smoke bombs to the floor, engulfing them all in a dark purple cloud. When the smoke cleared, the goons and Charmy were gone._

**( End FlashBack)**

* * *

Vector was snapped awake from his flashback when Slate and some kind of creepy scienetist decided to enter the room. Vector didn't like the snide looks on his captors faces.

"Well,well,well" said the sciencetist Slate was with " it seems that our test subject has woken up,"

"What's going on here Slate" said Vector, trying to break from his binds " being your lab rat wasn't part of the deal!"

"No" said Slate " but you did agree to work for me. This is just a little insurance in case you get... out of hand,"

"What are you planning?" growled Vector, spotting the mysterious sciencetist pulling out a needle filled with a strange purple liquid.

"Revenge Vector" said Slate " revenge agianist everyone who has ever foiled my plans. I may have said I would never hurt your friends, but I never said anything about you,"

Vector's eyes widened in horror just as he figured out what Slate wanted him for, and tried even harder to break out of his metal binds. Suddenly, the sciencetist poked the needle into the crocodile's arm, injecting the purple fluid into Vector's body.

Vector immediately stopped struggling and lay still, a dark light flickered in his eyes. The metal binds holding Vector released their grip, and soon the croc was kneeling down before Slate.

"What is your command, Master?" asked Vector in a drone-like voice.

"Master," grinned Slate. Oh how he liked the sound of that.


	5. Chapter 5: The Invisible Hand

**Ch.5: The Invisible Hand**

Once Espio explianed to Charmy what he had overheard at the Blue Eye Pub, the young bee quivered in fright. The Wolf they had faced all those years ago with Vector had been an andriod? Then where was the Wolf Vector fell in love with? Did she really die? Did she even exsist?

"We're getting more questions here than answers" said Espio " we need to find out where Slate has taken Vector and fast!"

"You think he could be at his old hideout?" said Chamry, hopefully.

"No" said Espio " that place got destroyed in the explosion. He would have found a new hideout, but I'm not sure where,"

"Well we can't stand around and do nothing" said Charmy " Vector saved our lives in the past, now it's our turn to save him!"

Espio stood silent, reflecting on what Charmy had said, and how it reminded him so much of Vector. For that was just the way the crocodile reacted when the young bee had been kidnapped by Slate's men.

* * *

**(FlashBack-Espio's POV)**

* * *

_"Slate!" growled Vector, punching his fist into the wall " is going to pay for this!"_

_"I'm sorry Vector" I apologized to the crocodile " it is my fault that we were led into an ambush. I am ashamed,"_

_"No" said Vector, walking away " you shouldn't be,"_

_"Where are you going?" I asked, running after him._

_"To find Slate" said Vector " and rescue Charmy,"_

_"Vector, what did that guy mean?" I asked cautiously " when he called you Slate's 'personal' hobby?"_

_"After Wolf was killed" said Vector, after a moment of silence " I found out at her funeral that her biological father was none other than Slate. The scum had murdered his own daughter. And even though I now know the truth of Wolf's family line, I can't fight the feeling that I still love her,"_

_"Slate will kill Charmy if he gets the chance. I will not give him that chance,"_

_"Then I'm coming with you" I said " after all, Charmy is my responsibility too,"_

_Two hours later, me and Vector met at the park to regroup. Both of us had failed to turn up a single lead that led to Slate or Charmy's kidnappers._

_"Hmph" I grunted " if only clues were easier to find,"_

_Suddenly, something came whirling striaght for us. We both had barely enough time to duck out of the way. The projectile stopped dead in a tree. I turned to look and see what had almost hit us. Confusion lit up my face when I saw it was a pickaxe, but Vector wasn't confused. He pulled the pickaxe out of the tree and glared at it._

_"He's at his old hideout" said Vector " and he's waiting for us,"_

_"Then let's not dissappiont him," I said._

_"Right" said Vector, with a grin at my attempted humor " let's go,"_

_About thirty minutes later Vector and I found ourselves traveling down the dark corridors of the Volcanic Ice Mines. In its later days, this underground network of tunnels had been filled to the brim with diamonds. But after all the diamonds were dug out, the mines became abandoned._

_Slate had picked an excellent refuge for his operations, it was easy to get lost here in the tunnels. However, a lit trail of torches, obivously left by Slate, guided us through the maze until the path split in two different directions. Both paths were lit with torches, so where should we go?_

_"We'll split up" said Vector, turning to me " I'll take the left, you take the right,"_

_"Roger," I said, and with that we split up._

_The tunnel I went down didn't seem to stretch very far. The pathway ended about ten or twenty feet ahead. What was down this corridor? There had to be a reason why it was lit. All became clear to me when I heard a familiar, childish voice singing through the hallway._

_"Oooo...Ohohohoh...I have the the jail house blues!"_

_"Charmy!" I yelled, running down the corridor in excitement._

_"Espio?" came the bee's exclaimation of surprise._

_Jail cells lined the right wall of the corridor as I ran down the tunnel. I found Charmy in the third one near the end. The bee jumped up in excitement at seeing me, and I looked over the door to his cell._

_It was an electronic lock and could only be opened when the right code was punched into its database. Going through all those numerical combinations were going to drive me crazy. I didn't even know how long the coded number was._

_Charmy's singing wasn't helping my concentration. The kid had abandoned the words in his songs and replaced it with sounds that didn't even make sense._

_"Be, Boo, Bee, Bee,"_

_"Would you be quiet please" I hissed at Charmy " I'm trying to figure out the code,"_

_"But I'm helping" said Charmy " the wolf lady punched in four numbers, those were the sounds,"_

_Of course! I slapped myself on the forehead for not realizing it sooner. Charmy had been mimicking the sounds of the numbers that held him prisoner. I have to hand it to him, this bee was smarter than I thought._

_Searching for the same numbers that matched the sounds Charmy had sang, it wasn't long before the bee's cell door opened and he joined me in the corridor._

_"Where's Vector?" asked Charmy._

_"He went down the other hallway" I said " come on, let's find him and get out of here,"_

_"You're not going anywhere," came an unexpected voice._

_Before either Charmy or I could react, a powerful blow slammed againist our heads, and we blacked out on the floor._

* * *

**(End FlashBack)**

* * *

After his brief trip to the past was over, Espio and Charmy continued their search for Vector. Hours passed, and by the time night feel, Charmy and Espio were sitting exhausted in the park.

"We're never going to find Vector this way," thought Espio.

"Espio" said Charmy, looking up at the chameleon " I'm so tired,"

"Come on Charm" said Espio, getting up " let's go home,"

"What's your hurry?" said a voice, freezing the pair in surprise " you were looking for me right?"

Turning around, Espio and Charmy couldn't be more happy with what they saw. There, standing in the shadows of the trees, was Vector! All their searching had finally come to an end.

"Vector, thank goodness" said Espio " I was begining to think Slate had done something awful to you,"

"My Master would never harm me" said Vector, grinning evily " but he did instruct me to harm you,"

Without another word, Vector charged at Espio and Charmy, determined to tear the bee and chameleon apart.


	6. Chapter 6: A Deadly Mission

**Ch.6: A Deadly Misson**

Espio and Charmy immediately dodged out of the way as Vector charged, confused as to why the crocodile was suddenly attacking them.

"Vector it's us," said Charmy, hoping to spark the croc's memory.

The bee was dissappionted as Vector charged again. Quickly Espio grabbed Charmy and moved them to the safety of a nearby. Vector growled in anger and started slamming at the tree with his tail, determined to knock the two out.

"What's wrong him?" said Charmy " it's like he doesn't even recgonize us,"

"Slate must have done something to him and sent him to kill us" said Espio " we're no match for Vector's brute strentgh. We have to retreat,"

Charmy nodded at Espio's reasoning, grabbed the chameleon's hand and flew them out of the tree. Vector wasn't to happy seeing his prey escaping. Puffing up his chest Vector released a powerful jet of fire at the fleeing pair.

The scorching heat seared Charmy's wings, making the bee plummet to the ground at an alarming rate. Charmy was instantly knocked unconious when he hit the ground, while Espio stood shakingly on his feet, seeing to favor his left foot.

Vector saw his chance to destroy his prey and edged closer to the damaged duo. Removing some small round orbs from his gauntlets, Espio threw them at Vector, seconds later the orbs released a purple smog.

"Ha!" laughed Vector " you think a little gas is going to...stop...me,"

Seconds later, Vector's body slammed to the ground, snoring could be heard coming from the gator's mouth.

"Come on" said Espio to Charmy " let's take him home,"

* * *

It was tough going to get back to the Chaotix agency. Charmy's wings were burned so he couldn't fly them home. Espio wasn't a big help when he and Charmy were forced to walk Vector back home either.

Because of the fall he had taken, Espio's right leg had become twisted, so that slowed down their progress considerabley. When they finally made it back to the agency it was a big relief.

Placing the unconious Vector on the couch, Espio got out the first aid kit and started treating his and Charmy's injuries. After that was done the chameleon went into the kitchen and fixed something for him and Charmy to eat. The chameleon and bee ate together in silence.

"Espio?" said Charmy, breaking the silence " is Vector going to be alright?"

"I don't know Charmy" said Espio, putting his fork down " Slate did something to him to make him turn againist us. I can't help but feel this has something do with the phone call Vector recieved from our client,"

"You think it could have been Slate?" said Charmy " but why would he do this to Vector? Mind control isn't exactly his style. Remember when he used us as bargianing chips so Vector could steal from the FBI?"

Espio nodded at bee, oh how he remembered that day.

* * *

**(FlashBack-Normal POV)**

* * *

_While Espio and Charmy had managed to get themselves captured, Vector was busy exploring the second tunnel. It wasn't to long until the croc found himself in a large room, where Slate was already waiting for him._

_"Ah Detective Vector" said Slate, smiling slyly " I was wondering when you would arrive,"_

_"Cut the chat Slate" growled Vector " what did you do with my pals?"_

_"In do time Detective" said Slate " but first I must inform of your assignment,"_

_"What makes you think I'll do your dirty work,"_

_"This," said Slate, snapping his fingers. _

_Soon a cage slipped out of the wall holding Espio and Charmy. By the looks of their bodies, the two had been terribly bruised and beaten until they were unconious. Angry, Vector_ _charged at the cage, desperate to break them out, 'till a fmiliar red and yellow form got in his way._

_"No" said Vector, shocked " it can't be,"_

_"Why so surprised Vector?" said Wolf, Vector's old partner, twirling a pistol in her hand " aren't you happy to see me?"_

_"You're alive?" said Vector " but that can't be! Slate killed you! I saw it!"_

_"Now what reason could I possibly have for killing my own daughter?" said Slate, approaching Wolf " could a father ever be so heartless? Oh yes, he could,"_

_With that said Slate opened up a metal hatch on one of Wolf's shoulders, pressed a button, and made the machine transform into it's real form. The real form of the andriod had been unvieled as some sort of bizarre-looking, metal-plated lizard._

_"Just like a chameleon can change it's colors" said Slate " this robot can also change it's form. Of course, the minor glitch is, to turn into someone else, my machine must take away the heart of the intended victim and store it away,"_

_"So that's how Wolf died" said Vector " you had your robot attack her so he could have some kind of form to transform to. You used your own daughter as a test subject!"_

_"It was a fitting fate" said Slate " my daughter betrayed me by joining the police force, and started falling in love with a 'handsome' detective. When you and her were sent to capture me, I took my chance and had my robot attack her. A sad loss indeed, but very rewarding,"_

_"You're Sick!" growled Vector._

_"Thank you" said Slate, with a bow " but I've talked to long about my achievements. Let's discuss how you are going to help me. You see, the FBI has recently developed a special device that could come in handy with my plans, and I want you to fetch it for me,"_

_"No way man" said Vector " you'd have to be crazy to steal from the FBI,"_

_"You tell them Vector!" shouted Charmy, he and Espio had finally managed to wake up._

_"Perhaps you weren't paying attention when I explianed to you about this machine" said Slate " it take the heart of anyone, and use it to it's advantage, even your friends. You see Detective, I'm giving you a sporting chance to save them from destruction. After all, you have become my 'personal' hobby,"_

_Vector looked back and forth between Slate, the robot, and his friends. Although his mind racked with a dozen scenarios that could help get them out of the situation, Vector knew neither of them would work. Slate had him and a no win situation, and like or not, Vector had to agree to the villians terms._

_"Alright Slate" said Vector " you win. I'll get your FBI plans,"_

_"Vector No! shouted Espio._

_"It's the only way Espio" said Vector, throwing a sad look towards the chameleon " don't try to stop me,"_

_With that said, Vector ran out of Slate's hideout, not daring to look back._

* * *

**( End FlashBack)**

* * *

A low groan suddenly erupted from the couch, snapping Espio and Charmy out of their brief flashback. An unconious Vector was stirring awake, slowly his eyes opened and he looked around confused. His tired red eyes landed on Espio and Charmy, having lost the viciousness that had shown before.

"Wha...what happened to me?" asked Vector.

"Slate did something to you to make you attack us" said Espio " you're back at the Chaotix Agency safe and sound,"

"Slate?" said Vector wearily " he did this?"

"Yeah" said Charmy " don't you remember?"

"That's impossible," said Vector.

"Why?" said Espio, suddenly curious.

"Slate's dead" said Vector " I killed him myself,"

Before either Espio or Charmy could question Vector further, the crocodile passed out and started to drift back to sleep.


	7. Chapter 7: Most Wanted

**Ch.7: Most Wanted**

Early the next morning, Vector woke up to the sweet smell of breakfast being set down on the table. Man he was famished. It felt like he went two days without eating. Espio and Charmy were in their seats, about to dig in, when Vector burst in shouting...

"Leave some for me!"

Immedaitely Vector attacked the small buffet that had been layed out on the table. Espio and Charmy had to guard their plates with their life. They both knew Vector got like this whenever he was hungry.

"Vector" said Espio, making the crocodile slow his pace " we need to talk,"

"About what?" asked Vector.

"Slate," said Espio. As that word was spoken, Vector stopped eating immediately.

"What do want to know?" asked Vector, softly.

"You said to us that you killed him last, is that true?" asked Espio.

"Yes," Vector sighed.

"But how is that possible?" said Charmy " I mean, Slate's the one who captured you!"

"No he wasn't!" said Vector, his eyes taking an angry glint " it was that dumb, heart-stealing andriod of his! I'm only surprised he didn't steal my heart for his collection,"

"What he want you for?" asked Espio.

"Some kind of experiment" said Vector " they gave me a shot and I blacked out. When I awoke, I was back in the Chaotix Detective Agency with you guys,"

"There's something just not right here" said Espio " why would the andriod lure you away with a phone call just to give you a shot? If Slate is dead, how did you know the robot wasn't him? Who are 'they'? And what do they have to gain from this little scam?"

"Well, I'm not sure if this will help any" said Vector " cause I'm not sure who was working with the andriod, even though I got a good look at his face. So let's start with the phone call,"

"I first got suspicous as soon as I heard the female voice over the phone. It was Wolf's voice! I'd recgonize it anywhere! And since Wolf was already dead, I knew it had to be the andriod I was talking to. He wanted me to come meet with him at the Blue Eye Pub. Naturally, I refused at first. But then he pulled out his trump card,"

"He had captured Cream and Vanilla," said Vector.

Espio and Charmy gasped in shock. Cream and Vanilla had been captured by a heart-stealing andriod.

"So that was 'her' Vector had talked about on the phone" Espio thought " no wonder he was so upset,"

"He added on to his threat that if I didn't come see him in thrity minutes" said Vector " he would kill them along with you guys,"

"Why that monster!" Charmy shouted " Let me at 'em! Let me at 'em!"

"So that's why you asked me to guard Charmy before you left," said Espio, looking at Vector.

"Yes" said Vector " if there was anyone else around here that could, it would be you,"

"So what happened when you got to the pub?" asked Espio.

"When I got there" said Vector " the andriod had turned into Slate. I don't know how he came to obtain Slate's heart, but he must have got it sometime after I killed Slate. He wanted me to work for him, and given the options, I had no choice but to accept. I suddenly got tazered from behind and blacked out,"

"When I woke up, I was in some kind of mad scienetist labatory. It was there, I was given the shot, and that's all I can tell you from there,"

"You said you got a good look at the scienetist's face right?" asked Espio.

" Yeah" said Vector " he looked like a gaint snapping turtle. I'm sure I saw him somehwere on Mobious's Ten Most Wanted,"

"In that case" said Espio " we should give Scarlet a call at the FBI. Maybe if you have a look at their files, you can identify the crook,"

"I don't know Espio" said Vector, suddenly nervous " I still don't think me and the FBI are on good terms,"

"It's the only option we got Vector," said Espio.

"Okay" said Vector " we'll go first thing tomorrow,"

* * *

Scarlet had been surprised when Espio gave her the call, but quickly arranged a time to give the Chaotix clearnece to look over the FBI's criminal files. Needless to say, Vector was a little nervous about being in the FBI house again.

It seemed that almost every secret agent in the place was giving him venomous stares. No that he blamed them. After all, stealing top secret documents was a bad first impression in anyone's case.

* * *

**(FlashBack-Vector's POV)**

_This has to be the absolute most dumb thing I have ever done in my entire life. I was breaking into the FBI! If anyone caught me here, I'd be marked as a criminal for the rest of my life!_

_But I had no choice. Espio and Charmy's lives were in danger, and if I didn't do what Slate said, there was no doubt in mind he would kill them. _

_Breaking in was a little to easy. All I had to do was knock out a guard, take his uniform, and stroll around the halls like I was one of the staff. Finding the top secret plans I had come to steal was a little bit harder._

_After getting lost in many hallways, I finally managed to find the entrance to the Top Secret room. Unfortunately for me, there was no simple way to break in. An electronic hand scanner stood to the right side of the door. I would need the handprint of a high-ranking offical just to get in. Either that or the janitor, but what were the chances of that happening?_

_Suddenly, a happy whistle echoed through the halls as the janitor strolled his cart of cleaning supplies down the hallway. Hmph, looks like today was my lucky day._

_Quickly knocking out the janitor, I pressed his hand againist the scanner, and slipped inside the Top Secret room. Dozens of file cabinets filled the walls, and I quickly shuffled through the files, knowing I didn't have a lot of time before the guards noticed that there was a janitor kocked out in the hallway._

_I had just found the plans, when the flashing red lights of the alarm blared through the building. Stashing the file away in my suit, I popped out the secret room and started dashing towards the exit._

_I didn't get far. By the time I was almost to the exit, I was surrounded from all sides by FBI agents. All had their guns trained on me, ready to kill if I did anything funny. Sighing in defeat, I extracted the secret file from my suit and tossed it to the floor. I held up my hands in surrender._

_A beautiful, scarlet red fox, cautiously approached me, taking the secret file, and slapped handcuffs to my wrists. I followed her to my jail cell without any resistance._

_As soon as the metal bars closed, locking me in, the tears I had been holding escaped from my eyes._

_"I'm sorry" I cried " Espio. Charmy. I failed,"_

**( End FlashBack)**

* * *

"Hi guys," said a familar voice, snapping Vector out of his thoughts.

"Hey Scarlet," said Charmy, as a red fox approached the trio.

"Didn't think I would be seeing you in here again," said Scarlet, turning to Vector.

"It's for the right reason this time," said Vector.

"Follow me" said Scarlet, leading the Chaotix into a small room stuffed with files. " you'll find everything you need here. Call me if you find anything,"

As soon as Scarlet left, and the doors locked behind her, the Chaotix began their search for the mysterious turtle Vector had seen working with the andriod. After about two hours of no success, Vector suddenly shouted in victory.

"Found him!" yelled Vector " quick, call Scarlet! We found our man!"

Espio pressed the call button, and immediately Scarlet was back in the room. When she glanced at the file Vector gave her, her blue eyes widened in shock.

"Are you sure he was the one you saw?" Scarlet asked Vector, barely managing to contain the cold shiver in her voice.

"Yep that's him!" said Vector " Professor Tom Raptor!"


	8. Chapter 8: Jailed And Bailed

**Ch.8: Jailed and Bailed**

"Who's Professor Tom Raptor?" asked Charmy.

"A mad chemist that used to do forensics research for the FBI" said Scarlet " he got a little to involved with the criminal pyshe and started making dangerous concoctions with his chemicals. We had to cut the funding for his work and kick him out of the FBI,"

"Unfortunately, ever since he got booted out his crazy experiments have turned on innocent civillians. Whenever we got wind of his operations and tried to stop him, he always managed to slip away,"

"What happened to his victims?" asked Espio.

"Only a few victims managed to escape alive" said Scarlet " the others were either turned into monsters or dead on arrival. Vector is lucky he even survived at all,"

"I'll say," said Vector, shuddering at the thought.

"This still doesn't answer my question of why a heart-stealing andriod and Pr. Raptor would kidnap Vector" said Espio " all they did was give him a shot that boosted his agression, when they could have done something far worse,"

"Yeah" said Charmy " what are they planning? That experiment had to be for a reason,"

For a moment, everyone sat in silence, pondering this piece of the puzzle. Vector thought back to the moment he was captured, maybe there was clue there somewhere.

"He said he wanted revenge on everyone who foiled his plans" thought Vector " but who would he target other than the Chaotix?"

"Ms. Scarlet" said an old jackal, suddenly entering the room " I hate to pull you away from, but the boss needs to see you for going top secret plans for Friday,"

"Thanks Rick" said Scarlet, getting up " I gotta go. Bye guys,"

"What's happening on Friday?" asked Charmy, when Scarlet left the room.

"Don't you read the newspaper?" said Espio " the president is coming over Friday to visit Central City. It's only logical to put an FBI agent like Scarlet on the case,"

At Espio's sentence something pricked in Vector's mind as he realized just who the Lizard-Bot and Pr. Raptor could be after, but didn't want to voice his suspicions to Espio and Charmy just yet.

On their way back to the Chaotix Detective Agency, Vector couldn't help but think how beautiful Scarlet was. In some ways, the tough female fox reminded him of his old partner Wolf. Especially since that talk the had, a long time ago.

* * *

**( FlashBack- Vector's POV)**

* * *

_It felt like an enterity that I have been sitting in the interrogation room, even though it could have only been no more than ten minutes. I had finally been led out of my secluded cell, cause the FBI had a few questions they wanted answers to. So why weren't they asking me yet?_

_Surprise came my way when the door suddenly opened, allowing Scarlet to step in along with Charmy and Espio. How did the two escape Slate's trap? How'd they know where I was?_

_"Vector!" yelled Charmy, hugging me happily._

_"We figured this was where you would end up" said Espio, taking a seat across the table. " no one steals from the FBI and gets away with it,"_

_"Speaking of getting away" I said " how did you guys escape Slate's trap?"_

_"After you left on a suicide mission to save us" said Espio " Slate, and I'm assuming your old partner Wolf ajured to another room, leaving us alone,"_

_Vector winced inwardly at the mentioning of his old partner's name. Espio and Charmy had been unconious during the time Slate explianed what he had done in order to power his shape-changing andriod._

_"Best keep it secret to them for now," thought Vector, tuning back into Espio's story._

_"There was a button on the control panel to unlock our cage" said Espio " one well-placed shuriken was all it took and we were free. Before we completed our escape to find you, I hacked into Slate's computer and downloaded his files. I think you'll find this most interesting,"_

_Scarlet set a computer down on the table, and Espio slid in the disk. I turned the modem towards me so I could read what was going on the screen. My eyes widened in horror at what I read._

_When Slate had I had become his 'personal' hobby he really meant it. There were tons of data about me, my likes, my dislikes, all down to my bank account and favorite food. Just how long has that stupid spider been spying on me?_

_I was so freaked out about the data Slate had on me, that I almost missed another file as it came up. The file was called; Operation:SCAR._

_According to the data, sending me to the FBI was a distraction technique for Slate and his Lizard-Bot to steal the heart of guard at the gold repository and make it off with at least a bullion, and mold it into a weapon based on my design._

_"Dang!" I said, slamming my fist down on the table " I can't believe I was tricked so easily! He's making a super weapon to take out Central City!"_

_"We got to find that weapon before he decides to use it on whatever he plans to destroy," said Scarlet._

_"Finding it won't be a problem" said Espio " what's your best guess that he's building it at his hideout right now?"_

_"Alright, let's go!" yelled Charmy._

_"Wait guys!" I yelled to Espio and Charmy " I'm still in jail remember? I can't go with you guys to raid Slate's hideout!"_

_"Don't worry Vector" said Scarlet " I'll put in a word the Chief and see if he'll let you go. We can catch up with Espio and Charmy later,"_

_"We?" I asked, confused._

_"Of course We " said Scarlet " you honestly don't think I'd let three tangle with dangerous criminal without some back up do you?"_

_"We'll stay in recon mode until you two arrive" said Espio, getting up " come on Charmy,"_

_"Bye Vector!" yelled Charmy, as he and Espio left._

_"That's quiet a team you got there," said Scarlet, once they were._

_I looked at her, my head swirling in confusion, until what she said finally hit me and made me smile. My team. I had formed a team_.

* * *

**( End FlashBack)**

* * *

Espio called for dinner, snapping Vector out his flashback. Looking at the clock, Vector guessed that he had spaced out for about an hour, and went to join Espio and Charmy at the dinner table.

However, Vector's appetite was not quite as extreme as his teammates. This case had so many twist and turns that Vector barely picked up his fork to eat the food on the plate. The fork slipped from his grip, and landed on the plate with a clang, drawing the attention of Espio and Charmy.

"You alright Vector?" asked Espio, concerned for his friend.

"No" said Vector, shaking his head " there's something missing in this case. Some key clue between my kidnapping and the FBI,"

"What do you mean the FBI?" asked Espio.

"Well think about it" said Vector " in our past case Slate sent me to steal from the FBI and now here we are dealing from Mobious's Ten Most Wanted list, which just so happens to be a former FBI agent,"

"Hmmm" said Espio, processing Vector's thought " I think I see where you're going with this. You think that Slate, Lizard-Bot, and Pr. Raptor are targeting someone in the FBI? Someone your close to?"

"But who could that be?" asked Charmy.

The answer erupted from all of thier mouths at once.

**"SCARLET!"**


	9. Chapter 9: Guilt Trip

**Ch.9: Guilt Trip**

It was late that evening when Scarlet finally returned home from the FBI. After taking a quick shower, the scarlet fox slipped into her blue nightgown and prepared to go to bed when she noticed a familiar book laying on her dresser.

Taking a seat on her bed, Scarlet grabbed the book and started to flip through the pages. Inside the book were pictures of the happier times she had spent hanging out with her father and sister.

She paused at one picture, giggling slightly at the sight of a spider, wolf, and fox having a splash fight at the beach. Oh, if only she could back to those happy times. When both her sister and father were alive, and her father wasn't the most wanted criminal in the world.

Oh, how clearly she remembered the day that everything changed.

* * *

**(FlashBack-Scarlet's POV)**

* * *

_It felt so good to be out of the orphanage. For years me and Wolf had been trapped in that horrible place, whispering dreams that would never come true. But when Slate arrived, and adopted us, everything changed._

_He was the perfect father figure for us. So full of life and full of fun, that if me and Wolf did crazy things he would just laugh out loud. We shared so many good laughs together. But then, one day, everything changed._

_When me and Wolf were fixing to go into our teens, Slate was suddenly arrested for commiting a horrible crime. He called us from jail every night, telling us how he was framed, and wasn't responsible for the murder the police had claimed he commited._

_Me and Wolf trusted our adoptive dad down to the core, and promised to the raise the money in order to release him. It took a few hard, back-breaking months, but soon we had Slate back in our lives._

_For the first week, things were peaceful, but then our father showed some abnormal traits. He started getting angrier and more agressive towards us. Hitting and beating us until we could barely stand. Me and Wolf were stunned by his sudden attitude ajustment._

_And when we told him what we wanted to be when we grew up, he got even madder. I had told Slate that me and Wolf planned to be famous detectives one day. He threw stuff at us, and started cursing the police department._

_"Those idiots threw me in jail without proper reason" Slate hissed at us " and you want to help support their cause! No one ever looks at me the same anymore because of them! They've taken away everything that holds meaning to me! And you support them, I have no choice but to make you suffer the consequences!"_

_Slate pulled out a knife, and approached me and Wolf with a murderous look on his face. I wrapped my arms around Wolf and closed my eyes, ready for the strike that would end our lives, when the front door suddenly came crashing down._

_Next thing I knew, Slate was knocked againist a wall by a young, mean-looking crocodile with fierce red eyes._

_"Back off pal!" the croc yelled to Slate, then turned to us " you ladies alright?"_

_"Yeah," me and Wolf said nervously._

_"Good" said the croc " I heard some noise as I was walking by. Didn't sound good, so I'd thought I drop in,"_

_"We're glad you did," said Wolf._

_"Alright pal!" said the croc, turning his attention " what's the big idea of trying to murder these harmless women?"_

_"What does that matter to you?" said Slate, getting up " I don't have to answer to you Mr.?"_

_"Vector!" said the croc " remember it pal!"_

_"Oh I shall," said Slate, and with that he swung off into the darkness._

* * *

**(End FlashBack)**

* * *

Scarlet was interrupted from her flashback when the phone on her dresser suddenly started to ring. Putting down the photo album, Scarlet reached her hand over and picked it up. The sound of a worried Vector popped at the other end of the line.

"Scarlet you're in danger!" yelled Vector " me and figured out what Lizard-Bot and Raptor are after, and we're on our way to your house right now!"

"What? Why?" asked Scarlet.

"No time to explian!" shouted Vector " just keep both eyes open until we get there!"

With a click the line went dead, and Scarlet sat in confusion. What could have the Chaotix so worried that they on their way to protect her. a sudden stratching at the window gave her her answer. When she turned to look through the glass, see could see the impression of a demonic-looking, metallic lizard on the other side of the pain.

One punch of it's metal claws, and the window shattered into pieces. Scarlet jumped out of bed, grabbing her gun which was also on her dresser, and started firing at the heart-stealing andriod.

"That tickles," smirked the Lizard-Bot.

Scarlet's gun clicked, and she cursed herself knowing it was jammed. The Lizard-Bot took his oppurnity and pounced on the defenseless fox.

"Prepare yourself detective" said the Lizard-Bot, preparing to impale Scarlet with his needle-sharp claws " cause there's no one around to hear you scream,"


	10. Chapter 10: Old Flames Still Burn

**Ch.10: Old Flames Still Burn**

Just as the Lizard-Bot prepared to slice out out Scarlet's heart, something sharp penetrated into his back. Before the Lizard-Bot could make any sense on what happened, his back exploded, making him cry out in pain. Scarlet took her chance and slipped out of the metallic lizard's grasp.

"Looks like we arrived just in time," said Espio, turning visible on Scarlet's bed.

"You'll pay for that," growled Lizard-Bot and lunged for Espio.

But before he could even reach the chameleon, Charmy came flying in through Scarlet's window and headbutted the robot, sending it flying into a wall.

"Nice work Charmy," said Espio.

"Thanks," beamed Charmy.

Lizard-Bot may have been down, but he was not out. Growling angrily, Lizard-Bot extended his metal claws, no longer caring about his victims hearts. They were all dead meat from here.

Suddenly, Scarlet's bedroom door was punched down by an angry Vector, who wasted no time in mauling the Lizard-Bot. Espio, Charmy, and Scarlet all stared in shock as Vector took out all his rage on the defenseless robot. Once he was through, there was nothing left but a pile of spare parts.

"It was about time he died anyway" said Vector, looking at his stunned auidence " you alright Scarlet?"

"Yeah I'm fine" said Scarlet, shaking off her paralyzed expression " thanks for saving me,"

"What's this?" asked Espio, opening the book on Scarlet's dresser.

"No don't!" said Scarlet, but it was to late, the chameleon had already saw the pictures inside.

"You were Slate's daughter?" said Espio, first to Scarlet, then glowered at Vector " you told Wolf was the only daughter Slate had. Did you already know that Wolf and Scarlet were related?"

"Yes I knew" said Vector " and I never told you that Slate only had one daughter. He adopted both Scarlet and Wolf from an orphanage. He only wanted one them at first, but Scarlet stood up to him telling him it was it was a package deal or nothing,"

"The first time I really met Scarlet and Wolf was when I was a teen. I decided to take a short evening walk when I heard screams coming from a nearby house. Wasting no time, I kicked down the door, and rammed Slate, who was holding a knife, preparing to kill his two girls. Slate's held a grudge againist me ever since,"

"Well that explians a good portion of this mystery" said Espio, crossing his arms " although I wish you would have told Charmy and me about all of this sooner,"

"Didn't seem important at the time," said Vector.

"Uh guys" said Charmy, interrupting " what are we going to do now?"

"Good question" said Vector " we took care of one loony, but there's still another one out there with a huge grudge on Scarlet,"

"Professor Raptor you mean?" said Espio.

"Yeah" said Vector " and if you ask me, I bet he's planning to strike when the president comes to town tomorrow. It will be the perfect chance for him to get revenge, and I doubt he'll want to miss it,"

"In that case" said Espio, turning to Scarlet " can you get us permission to act as bodyguards during your mission and keep an eye out for Raptor. If Vector's theory is accurate, we'd better not take chances,"

"It'll be difficult to convince them" said Scarlet " but I'll call you in the morning to let you know,"

With that said, the Chaotix left Scarlet's house, and let the fox finally get some sleep.

* * *

Eight o' clock the next morning, the Chaotix got a call from Scarlet saying she had managed to get the FBI's permisson to allow the Chaotix into the Council Hall for her protection. They were to meet her there at ten.

While getting themselves ready for their ten o' clock appiontment, Espio couldn't fight the feeling that something was going to go terribly wrong. A feeling that he hadn't felt ever since the Chaotix had first met Slate. His mind suddenly reflected back on what happened that day.

* * *

**(FlashBack-Normal POV)**

* * *

_It took a few minutes, but Scarlet had managed to convince her boss to let Vector out of jail for a brief time, so he could help in the capture of Slate, and they ran off to meet Charmy and Espio. Espio had sent Charmy to do some aieral recon, and reported that Slate seemed to have increased security._

_"It's not going to be easy to get in like last time," said Espio._

_"Last time he wanted us to get in" said Vector " just because he decided to withdraw his hospitality now, doesn't mean we can't get inside,"_

_"There's a tunnel on the south side that looks unguarded" said Charmy " guess he doesn't have enough lackey's to guard all the doors,"_

_"Sounds like a trap to me," said Scarlet._

_"Whenever has there ever been none?" said Vector, sarcastically " come on, let's go,"_

_With that said Vector and the others slipped through the south side tunnel, and walked on until the mouth split into three different directions. All ways were lit with torches, so there was no way of telling which one led to Slate or his weapon._

_"We'll have to split up" said Scarlet " I'll go striaght, Vector you go left, and Espio and Charmy will go go right. If any of you get into trouble give a call on your communicator, agreed?"_

_"Agreed," said Vector, Espio, and Charmy, and split off into the tunnels._

_In Vector's tunnel, everything seemed peaceful and quiet, until he suddenly got stabbed from behind. Growling angrily, Vector turned to see who had attacked him, and was little surprised to it was the andriod that killed his beloved Wolf._

_"Want to dance Detective?" said Lizard-Bot, flashing his metal claws._

_"Bring it!" yelled Vector, and charged at the sinister andriod._

_Meanwhile, in Espio and Charmy's tunnel, the bee and chameleon found themselves walking into a large room. A gaint piece of golden machinery stood in the center of the room, it whole design baring a striking resemblence to Vector._

_A timer sat flashing down on the control of the huge cannon, with ten minutes and counting. Knowing they had to disable the cannon before the timer went down to zero, Espio and Charmy raced over to the device, hoping againist all hope they could save the world._

_In the mean time, Scarlet had reached the end of her tunnel and ended up jumping down into a square shaped room. Slate stood about ten feet in front, a sadistic smile painted on his face._

_Pulling out a control, Slate pressed a button, and part of the floor fell away into a huge moat of lava. Scarlet looked at the moat in fear, then turned and glared at Slate. Slate grinned, threw the remote control away, and prepared to fight._

_"I was expecting the crocodile" said Slate " but you'll do for an appetizzer,"_

_"Bring it Slate!" said Scarlet._

_And with that said, Slate and Scarlet began to clash._

* * *

**(End FlashBack)**

* * *

"Espio!" shouted Vector " wake up! We're here!"

The sound of Vector's demanding voice, snapped Espio out of his flashback and focused his mind back on the mission. The chameleon berated himself for falling asleep on the job. He had to be serious during this mission, or else everything could go to pot.

The Chaotix arrived at City Hall right on time, and it wasn't to long before a huge, black limosine pulled up at the front steps of the building sometime after. Soon, Scarlet was walking out of the limosine, guiding the President beside her. She noticed the Chaotix and gave them a wave.

Knowing that was was their signal to follow her inisde, the Chaotix did, and soon they were in the Council Chamber, where the big meeting would take place. All the delegates had already arrived and were waiting patiently in their seats as the President walked in.

The Chaotix took different positions around the room, keeping an eye out for any sign of trouble as the President began his speech with the Mayor. Suddenly Vector noticed something suspious. One of the delegates didn't look quite right.

For one thing, he was shifting around uneasily in his chair. And for another thing, he pulled a gun out of his tux! Vector's eyes widened in horror as he recgonized the face of Pr. Tom Raptor taking aim at Scarlet who was standing near the President.

To far away to stop Pr. Raptor before he shot the gun, Vector opted for the next best option and ran right in front of Scarlet just as the turtle fired. A sharp pain exploded into Vector's shoulder, and he growled as he saw a dart stuck in his arm.

Espio and Charmy had seen who had taken a shot at Vector and raced after Pr. Raptor, who was trying to escape. Scarlet ran over to Vector concerned.

"Are you alright?" asked Scarlet.

A growl was all she got for an answer as Vector stood up and started howling in an animalistic rage. All the delegates began to scream and flee in fright. The President and Mayor cowered and Scarlet stood stunned.

Raptor's dart had turned Vector into a killing machine, and there was no hope anyone could stop him.


	11. Chapter 11: No Remedy For Betrayal

**Ch.11: No Remedy For Betrayal**

Mayhem rained through City Hall as Vector started tearing up everything in sight! Desks and chairs were flung or smashed to pieces! Fresh claw marks covered every inch the marble walls.

The President and Mayor were hiding for their lives in a janitor's closet, waiting horrible terror to pass. Scarlet immediately decided to take offensive approach, and pounced towards Vector, hoping to get his rampage to stop.

"Vector, you got to fight it!" said Scarlet, landing in front of the mad crocodile " you're not a monster! You're my friend! Snap out of it!"

No emotion showed in Vector's hazed eyes as he attacked the scarlet fox. His gleaming white teeth, narrowly avioding grabbing onto her waist. Scarlet jumped, and delivered a good kick to the crocodile's head, but Vector swung back with a claw and knocked Scarlet into a wall.

Before Scarlet could move, Vector had her pinned againist the wall with his powerful arms. His gaze was mudererous, and a deep, inhuman growl thundered from his throat, revealing his long array of deadly fangs.

Scarlet cringed, and her eyes shut tight, ready for her life to end, when Vector's grip suddenly loosened, and she dropped to the floor. Looking up, stunned, Scarlet saw Vector, with both hands on his head, looking like he was suffering from a major headache.

His red eyes were conflicting with emotion as he turned away from Scarlet, and dashed off into the streets. Confused about her sudden stroke of luck, Scarlet raced after Vector to make sure he didn't harm anyone else.

"After all" thought Scarlet " he has killed before. Let's just I hope I stop him before he kills again,"

* * *

**(FlashBack-Normal POV)**

* * *

_Less than seven minutes remianed before the Croc Cannon fired and the whole town of Central City would be destroyed. A frustrated Espio sat pounding on the control panel, trying desperately to power down the device, but it was no use._

_Slate had been one very smart computer programmer. This control panel had more firewalls than the Pentagon! Six minutes and counting! How was Espio going to stop this cannon's fire?_

_"Forget computers Espio" said Charmy, pulling out a pound of dynamite from his invisible backpack " why don't we do this the easy way instead?"_

_"Where did you get all that dynamite?" Espio asked, surprised._

_"Vector gave it to me" said Charmy, handing the bomb over to Espio " it has timer on it. Set it, and let's go!"_

_Meanwhile, Vector was gaining the upper hand during his fight with the Lizard-Bot. The robot's torn circuitury shown through the tears in his armor, and his body half buried inside a dirt wall thanks to Vector. A evil laugh escaped from the heart-stealing robot._

_"What's so funny?" growled Vector._

_"While you've been messing with me, Slate's been messing with your foxy friend " said the Lizard-Bot, grinning slyly " just another woman to fall for the great incompendence of Vector the Crocodile,"_

_Enraged, Vector shoved the Lizard-Bot completely into the dirt wall and raced off to save Scarlet._

_Scarlet had been confident that with her FBI training she would be more than a mtach for her father, but she was proved wrong. With little effort, Slate had managed to pin her down with a few strong webs, and was coming in for the kill when Vector suddenly decided to jump to the rescue._

_Easily avioding the lava moat, Vector landed between Scarlet and Slate. Slate's evil grin grew wider when Vector had arrived._

_"Well Detective" said Slate " we meet again. Out of prision I see,"_

_"Can it Slate!" said Vector " this maddness ends now!"_

_With that said, Slate and Vector charged at each other. Vector swung first, but Slate swung out of the way. Powering up his fire breath, Vector burned through the thread Slate was swinging from, making the spider jump and spin another one._

_Quite confident that he would be able to dodge all of Vector's attacks, Slate barely paid attention as the thread he was on suddenly burned through while he was swinging over a molten pit of lava._

_Gravity immediately became the enemey as Slate plummeted towards his fiery doom. Stunned Vector and Scarlet, who had espcaped from her net, ran over to the edge of the platform just in time to Slate's body be swallowed up by the flaming sea._

_"He's gone," cried Scarlet._

_A sudden blast shook the whole area, almost knocking both Vector and Scarlet off their feet. Rocks started to fall from the cieling, and the lava hissed with bubbling rage._

_"Espio and Charmy must have activated the bomb" said Vector, turning to Scarlet " we don't have much time before this whole place collaspes down on us!"_

_"Then let's go!" shouted Scarlet, and together she and Vector managed escape before Slate's hideout collasped._

_Burying him, and everything else, with it._

* * *

**(End FlashBack)**

* * *

Ignoring the flashback, Espio tried to stay focused on the task at hand. He and Charmy had luckily cornered Professor Raptor, and were not to willing to let the deadly snapping turtle escape from their clutches.

A horrific roar suddenly cut through the tense silence, and Espio and Charmy looked up in fear as they saw a mad Vector charge towards them, with Scarlet following behind.

Wasting no time, the mad croc pushed Espio and Charmy out of his way and pinned Professor Raptor to the ground. For the first time, Raptor's eyes grew wide with fear as Vector started slicing through his flesh with his razor-sharp claws.

Blood tainted the streets, and Vector's face, making the croc look madder than ever. Scarlet had seen enough and pulled out her gun. Taking aim at Vector's back, Scarlet pulled the trigger, and a three-toed dart shot into Vector's back.

For a moment, the crocodile backed up in pain, and then feel to the ground with a plop. Scarlet instantly got on her communicator and called for immediate hospital transport while Espio and Charmy approached the motionless form of their beloved leader.

"Is he...?" said Charmy, to frightened to finish his sentence.

"He'll be alright" said Espio, after checking Vector's pulse " but after all he's been through the past few days, I'm not sure what he'll wake up as,"


	12. Chapter 12: Team Chaotix

**Ch.12: Team Chaotix**

When Vector woke up he found himself staring at the white walls of a hospital room with Espio, Charmy, and Scarlet standing by his bedside. All three of his friends faces were lit up with relief as he sat up and spoke.

"What happened?" asked Vector, confused.

"You got boosted with another one of Raptor's aggression shots while trying to save Scarlet" said Espio " you smashed up City Hall, and sliced Raptor up good,"

"Is he still alive?" asked Vector, worried that he could have possibly killed someone else.

"He's in a catamose state right now" said Scarlet " but he'll be fine. Course, once he recovers, he'll be shipped directly to jail,"

"I'm sorry I couldn't control my actions," said Vector, feeling guilt.

"Don't worry about it" said Scarlet " you saved the President's and my lives. Raptor confessed that it if his dart had managed to hit me, I would have killed the President and had been black-listed by the FBI,"

"That doesn't excuse what I almost did to you at City Hall" said Vector, holding his claws in a pinch position " I came this close to killing you,"

"But you didn't" said Scarlet, giving the croc a peck on the cheek " your heart would never allow that to happen,"

"Oooo" said Charmy, as Scarlet walked out the door " Vector's got a girlfriend! Vector's got a girlfriend!"

"Shut it Charmy!" said Vector, throwing a pillow at the bee.

* * *

**(FlashBack-Vector's POV)**

* * *

_Finally, after all this time, Slate's curse has finally ended. My beloved Wolf has been avenged, my reputation has been restored, and I've made some wonderful new friends. But now that this case was closed, my heart sunk saddness, cause I knew that my new friends and I would be parting soon._

_Scarlet had already left to inform the FBI on what just happened, and Charmy was bugging Espio with his buzzing around. I laughed at the humorous show as the ninja chameleon tried to catch Charmy in order to strangle him._

_"Well" I said, approaching the pair " I guess this is goodbye boys,"_

_"Goodbye?" said Charmy, stopping in mid-flight, his horrified eyes looking at me " what do you mean 'goodbye'?"_

_"Well the case is over" I said " and I'm sure you two have places to go. It would be selfish to ask you to stay,"_

_"But I want to stay with you Vector" said Charmy, surprising me with a hug " I want go on adventures with you! Be a detective! Help you capture bad guys like Slate!"_

_"You sure about this kid?" I asked Charmy " this field could get dangerous,"_

_"I laugh at danger" said Charmy taking on a brave pose " Hahahahaha!"_

_I laughed at Charmy's antics and noticed Espio starting to walk away. He had to be lonely and nowhere else to go. I could probably use his help whenever I went out into the field. Plus, it would be kind of fun having a ninja in the house._

_"Hey Espio!" I called, stopping the chameleon in his has tracks " come on, this team needs one more player. And there's always room at my house for a friend or two, what do you say?"_

_Espio stood there silent for a moment, as if he was thinking it over, then shrugged his shoulders and walked up to us._

_"I'm in" said Espio, then sported a slight grin " but sharing a house with you two is going to be chaotic,"_

_"That's exactly what we are pal" I said to Espio " we're Team Chaotix!"_

* * *

**(End FlashBack)**

* * *

Back in the Present, a few days later, Vector was released from the hospital and got to join Espio and Charmy back home at the Chaotix HQ. Espio was meditating as usuasal in the corner, and Charmy was busy playing videogames.

Vector took a seat in his office, and quietly started to listen to his tunes. Five minutes later he realized that something in his office didn't look right. There was an extra picture hanging on his wall.

Curious, Vector walked over to see the picture, and grinned when he saw what it was. In the picture was Vector, Espio, and Charmy standing outside the Chaotix building when they first found the place and formed a team.

Written near the top of the picture was a little phrase signed by Espio and Charmy, that made Vector's smile glare bright. Three simple words:

**"Welcome Home Vector!"**

**The End **


End file.
